Google must have figured out I was perusing sites about rare earths after China recently cut off its supply, both to Japan and to the West. So today, AdSense intuited that I might wish to see a banner ad for this site (a Mongolian rare earth mining venture).

The company's transport lines do that, as well. Can anyone spot which neighboring country they AVOID sending cargo through? Why, it's almost as though they anticipate China might engage in politically-motivated export interruptions, or something . . .

Bright lads. Noticing that China's notorious unreliability as a supplier represents a unique marketing opportunity -- for the competition.

[That last story also mentions that Captain Ramboat's grandmother passed away in China during his incarceration for violating Japanese waters. Which is sure to calm the passions of Chinese jingoists.]

4) Taiwanese KMT legislator fans the flames: "“Without government support on both sides of the Strait, efforts by civilian associations of [Taiwan, China and Hong Kong] alone will not be enough and will be to no avail [for Taiwan to help seize the Senkaku Islands from Japan]."

Er, just what are the odds that that "civilian association" [Hong Kong's "Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands"] is actually a Chinese Communist Party front group? Leading everybody down the garden path to war?

Apparently, Taiwan's Chinese ultranationalist "Supreme Leader" isn't the only one who believes that Japan's Senkaku islands belong to China:

﻿﻿﻿﻿A tense maritime incident Tuesday in which two Japanese patrol vessels and a Chinese fishing boat collided near a disputed island chain triggered a diplomatic spat between the Asian giants.

[...]

﻿The Chinese boat's bow then hit the Yonakuni's stern and also collided with another Japanese patrol boat, the Mizuki, some 40 minutes later, Kyodo reported citing the coast guard.

All the more reason for America to participate in joint exercises with ally Japan to exert sovereignty over the islands. Because contrary to the assertions made by Taiwan's China Post, Peking's Pekinese Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei simply cannot be counted on if Beijing makes a land-grab.

The pro-American Liberal Democratic government of Prime Minister Taro Aso is teetering on the verge of collapse, while a much more conservative leader, Ichiro Ozawa of the Democratic Party, is still likely -- all but certain, if not held in check my the political contribution scandal -- to come to power, come September. If he does, Japan is all set to go nuclear to protect itself against hostile North Korea. [emphasis added]

One of its unchanging fundamental policies is not to make or own nuclear weapons of mass destruction [sic]. But Japan is also a nation capable of making an instant about-face . . . [emphasis added]

Why, those sneaky Japs. On Monday, they fool us with all this pacifism-this, and non-violence-that, and then BAMMO ! Next thing you know, they're nukin' Nanking !

Now, I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about Ichiro Ozawa. On the one hand, this link suggests he favors Japan strengthening Japanese-American relations by extending military help to America for U.N.-approved missions (Afghanistan -- hai, Iraq -- nain). And on the other, this source predicts he'd weaken those ties, by drawing CLOSER to China.

Beats me which is right. But I'd believe EITHER of those predictions over Hung's Japan-as-Iran fantasy, any day.

Last weekend, a report by researchers at the Munk Center of the University of
Toronto revealed "GhostNet," a computer espionage virus that had infected around
1,300 computers worldwide--including many "high value" targets where diplomatic
and national security information was stored . . . Experts disagree on whether the evidence proves China's guilt or merely suggests
it overwhelmingly. [emphasis added]

Nice turn of phrase there. The Chinese government's reaction was certainly telling. Chinese officials COULD have calmly announced that **ahem** freelance hackers must be at fault, and that they'd launch an investigation to find those responsible.

Instead what the world heard was the shoe on the table. LIES, LIES, these are all LIES!Those devious CANADIAN schemers are trying to start a new COLD WAR for their own malicious purposes!

Very . . . Kremlinesque. China launches Cold War-style cyber attacks -- then accuses the VICTIMS of its attacks of trying to start a Cold War.

Gelernter outlines why China's cyberwarfare was so difficult to uncover:

The focused nature of the attack helped it succeed. Businesses and other
organizations that detect viruses are less likely to notice and get hold of a
new virus that attacks a mere thousand computers instead of hundreds of
thousands. Until the target organizations do get hold of the virus, they can't
analyze it and use "signature detection" and related techniques to warn users
when infected cyberstuff arrives on their machines. [emphasis added]

GhostNet reminds us that the new Cold War won't be
fought with the threats and weapons of the old one. Americans might have less
trouble keeping in mind occupied Tibet, the war on Chinese Christianity, the
imprisonment and torture of political dissidents and members of Falun Gong, the
one-child-only decree and other specimens of PRC tyranny if they didn't find
Asian-on-Asian violence so deucedly boring. Instead of paying attention to those
issues, we simper about mutual respect and cooperation--without acknowledging
the fact that China is today the world's most powerful Evil Empire. The Soviets
favored large armies and nuclear arsenals, but China is our new Cold War enemy,
and her favorite weapons will also be novel: financial weapons, trade weapons,
cyberweapons. Welcome to Cold War II. [emphasis added]